Mrs. Andrea Pearson-Harris

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Mrs. Andrea Pearson-Harris was raised in Forty-Fort where she attended the public schools and was a member of the first graduating class of Wyoming Valley West. She helped initiate year-round girls’ group swimming in 1960 at the Wilkes-Barre YMCA. She went on to captain the league championship JCC team in 1966 and 1967. It was at the Wilkes-Barre JCC that Pearson-Harris set her first national record in the 40-yard freestyle. Mrs. Harris went on to attend college at East Stroudsburg State. In 1970, Andrea became the first All-American from East Stroudsburg in swimming, placing third in the 50-yard butterfly and 7th in 100-yard freestyle at the Women’s Collegiate National Championships in Normal, Illinois. She was voted the 1970 Outstanding Swimmer at East Stroudsburg. In 1971, Andrea joined team­mates in the first place consolation finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the Women’s Collegiate National Championships in Tempe, Arizona. Mrs. Harris is health and physical education teacher for the Wilkes-Barre Area School District. She coached swimming at James M. Coughlin High School from 1972 to 1984. Since she left coaching, Andrea is an instruc­tor/trainer for the American Red Cross in aquatics and first aid. Mrs. Harris has continued her swimming achievements on a Master’s Level. She has been consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally during her many years of competition. In 1982, she set a national record in the 50-yard freestyle at the YMCA Masters National championships in West Virginia, where she also earned gold medals in the 50-yard butterfly, 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard freestyle. Andrea earned bronze medals in sprint freestyle and butterfly at the US Masters Swim­ming National Championships in 1983 at the US Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She maintained Top Ten status in the US Swimming for the next 5 years. In 1981, Andrea made her first crossing of the Maui Channel in Hawaii as part of a relay team. She was joined by her husband, James, and former Coughlin High School swimmer Janet Roman, in a second channel crossing in 1987. In the summers of 1989 and 1990, Andrea successfully completed the arduous Maui Roughwater Swim. In 1991, Andrea was inducted into the East Stroudsburg University Athletic Hall of Fame. She has been actively involved with the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon for many years. She has volunteered as coordinator of the swim leg of the event since 1988, and has competed on a relay team, capturing the women’s team title in 1993 and 1995. Most recently, Andrea has competed in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Maui, Hawaii. She earned a bronze medal in the 50-meter butterfly, a bronze medal as a member of the 200-meter individual medley relay team, and a 6th place in the 50-meter freestyle. Her next competition will be in May of this year at the US Masters Swimming Zone Championships in Maryland.